


sea glass

by lemonpeony



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Budding feelings, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Snippet, mermaid au, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25016803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonpeony/pseuds/lemonpeony
Summary: Today was Saturday.And Saturday was treasure hunting day.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 62





	sea glass

**Author's Note:**

> leaves this at your feet and runs like hell
> 
> [thank you anna for being my beta for this fic!! ♡]

“Riiiii-kuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

Sora stood on the shore of the play island, swinging a yellow pail in his left hand and using his other hand to amplify his voice. Today was Saturday, and on Saturdays, Sora fell into the habit of waking up to the early morning sunrise and tossing on his summer clothes, snagging up the bucket he kept under his desk and leaving his house, careful not to wake his mother. He’d sprint all the way to the docks and row himself to the island just before the sun fully peaked over the horizon. Saturdays were for him and Riku. Saturday was treasure hunting day.

“Rikuuuuu! Come ooooon!” Sora shouted into the ocean. He sunk his toes into the wet sand impatiently. It was unusual for the mermaid (at least that’s what Sora called him) to keep him waiting for so long. _I know it’s early but_... Sora thought. _We have a lot to conquer today._

Finally, a head poked out of the incoming waves. Sora smiled when he saw the familiar silver hair and teal-ended fins sticking out from Riku’s head, and waved him over. Riku seemed hesitant at first, but eventually let the waves carry him closer to the shore, his body still submerged in a safe amount of water and not too far away from the brunett. Sora fell into a mess of giggles as he got closer to the mermaid, but Riku scooted back towards the water as a result. Sora froze, his feet sinking into the ocean beaten sand, and it was only now that he noticed Riku was holding one of his arms behind his back.

“Whatcha got there Riku?”, he asked curiously.

Riku shook his head, keeping his distance as the waves crashed into him. The inability of being able to properly speak to him wasn’t ever a concern to Sora, but there were moments when he wished he could hear what Riku had to say. And he really, _really_ wanted to know what he was hiding. But if the mermaid didn’t want to show him, he wasn’t going to force him.

Sora shrugged it off and squatted down, just barely hitting the sand with his backside. He crossed his arms over his knees and flashed another toothy smile at him. “Guess what? The shells from last week were perfect! I made so many bracelets with them, I even got to hand them out to some of my friends!”

Riku listened intently to Sora’s excitement. This was normally a part of their routine; Sora giving some kind of recap of how whatever they found the previous weekend turned to be useful, which would follow into their new agenda for that day. It was nice listening to Sora speak, Riku decided, there was a warm feeling that spread in his chest whenever he heard the sound of his voice mixed with the sounds of the ocean. It eased him, and he smiled uncontrollably. Riku fell back on to his hip as he watched the boy continue, now talking about how he made an anklet for himself.

“So listen,” Sora went on, “today we’re looking for sea glass. Those shiny stones that you sometimes bring me? We need, like, a butt ton.”

Riku tilted his head, furrowing his eyebrows as a way of asking _‘why?’_.

“I wanna make something for my mom. Her birthday is coming up, and I think she’d really like it. Plus, I promised Kairi I’d find a few for her since she liked the ones in our backyard so much.”

Riku nodded, the words mom and Kairi ringing familiar to him, making it easier for him to understand today’s task. _For Kairi,_ Riku thought. _For mom..._

“So!” Sora quickly stood up from his resting position and rested his hands on his hips, playfully splashing Riku with his foot. “You think you can handle it? Or is that too much work for you?”

The mermaid deadpanned at the brunett, sending a larger splash back at Sora with the flick of his tail. The boy hopped away from the friendly fire, laughing at the few drops of water that caught in his shorts.

“Alright, alright. I’ll go look around the lagoons. Come find me when you’ve got anything, okay?”

Riku nodded. He quickly turned himself around, now hiding his arm in front of him. Sora watched as he made a jumping leap into the ocean once he reached a deep enough depth to disappear into the waves, smiling to himself as he admired the teal shimmer of Riku’s tail catching the sun.

“Good luck!”

~~~

“This one reminds me of my friend’s eyes, their name’s Xion.”

Sora sat at the edge of the dock with his legs crossed, nesting the bucket of treasures he and Riku had collected until the sun made its descent. Riku was positioned next to him, his arms supporting his weight as he leaned on the dock, his bottom half barely sticking out the water. He listened to the boy go on about the sea glass they gathered, not even aware of the dumbfounded smile he wore as he rested his head on his arms.  
Sora dropped the piece back into the pail, furrowing his eyebrows but smiling back nonetheless. “What?”

The mermaid’s head shot up, ears perked and wide-eyed as Sora broke him out of his trance. A blush bloomed across his cheeks as Sora held his sides and broke into laughter. _Stop. Staring,_ Riku scolded himself. The habit started when he first heard him laugh; an unfamiliar warmth had washed through Riku’s body, going straight into his core. It was beautiful and messy. Captivating and wave shattering. It put Riku in a trance, and before he knew how addictive that laugh would be, he was gone. And he hadn’t recovered since, as he began to realize. 

The brunett wiped a tear from his eye, his hard laughs melting into soft giggles. “Y’know Riku, for a fish, you can be pretty cute sometimes.”

Hearing that, Riku’s blush blossomed down his neck and across his chest. It felt like his brain was short-circuiting. If he hadn’t known better, Riku could swear the heat spreading to his ear fins were just as red as his cheeks. _Good going Riku..._

“Well, I should head home,” Sora sighed. In truth, he didn’t want to leave. Saturdays were the peak of Sora’s week; when adults were sleeping in, he was chasing a mermaid down the beach. When teenagers were dancing the weekend nights away, Sora found himself hanging on to Riku’s shoulders as he dragged him through the water. Returning to the mainland meant leaving this behind for six excruciating days. Maybe he could sneak away if—

“Huh?”

Breaking Sora out of his thoughts was a small bag made of twine sitting on top of the sea glass pile. Sora picked up the bag, sealed shut with a thin piece of twine, and looked at Riku. “Did you do this?”

Hesitatingly, the silver haired mer nodded. His expression was hard to read, but Sora guessed he was waiting for him to open to the mysterious gift. He pulled the twine off and carefully pulled away the material, eyes wide as Sora realized what was inside. He quickly reached inside, not paying much attention to which piece he grabbed, and found himself speechless at the sea glass he was holding. It was a deep, sapphire shade of blue, perfectly beaten into a sphere shape. Sora lifted it up to the light of the sunset and admired how he could see clearly through the glass in his hand, a soft _‘whoa’_ escaping him. 

“Riku,” Sora started, “these are incredible! I mean where’d you even find these?!”

Unmoving, Riku watched Sora glow with joy as he returned the sea glass back into the pouch and placed the twine around the fabric. The warmth returned to Riku’s chest, almost too much to bear as his eyes drifted to Sora’s. The sunset was perfectly reflected in them, creating their own vision of an ocean waiting for the warmth of the sun. This intensified the feeling inside of Riku, and if he hadn’t known better, he almost had a word for it. But he wasn’t ready to think about those feelings. _Yet._

Sora clapped his hands together , looking down at the mermaid with his unwavering smile. “Oh man,” he began, “I can’t wait to use these for— HEY!”

Just then, a splatter of seawater interrupted Sora, leaving him wetter than he would’ve liked. Sora looked down to see Riku was fully submerged in the water, a look of irritation resting on his face. “Well what was that for?!” Sora threw his hands into the air as he shouted. He hadn’t said anything to warrant the retaliation. At least, not that he could think of.

The boy squinted at Riku, searching his face for some kind of hint as to what he said or did wrong. _Okay,_ he thought, _what did you do, Sora? All I said was I was gonna use it for— oh!_

“Do you... _not_ want me to use it?” Sora asked.

Riku remained still. _No._

“Riku, is this... for me?”

_Only you._

When Sora asked the second question, the blush returned to the mer’s cheeks, causing him to look away. The brunett’s expression softened, subconciously his grip tightened on the small bag. He laughed through his nose while a small smile graced his lips as he held out his hand for Riku. The mermaid swam closer to him, leaning himself out of the water a bit, and pressed his cheek into Sora’s hand. Riku closed his eyes, releasing a sigh.

He rubbed his thumb against his cheek, ”I won’t use them, I promise”, Sora spoke barely above a whisper.

For a moment the two stayed connected like this, not bothered by the disappearing sun or the air growing colder. These were the moments neither would trade for anything. Though time may have been passing, it felt like they were frozen in a moment made just for them. Even as the stars began to come out and reflect on the calming ocean, the two didn’t move. Sora was the first to break their contact; a shiver ran through him as the night air made its acquaintance. He tapped a finger to Riku’s cheek to get him to move, not having the heart to take his hand away himself. Riku slowly opened his eyes, and Sora’s heart almost melted at the sight of how content he looked. He really, really, _really_ didn’t want to leave him for a week.

“I really should head home,” Sora spoke. His voice was soft, as if he was speaking to a sleeping Riku. “Thank you for today, and for my treasure. We’ll do this again soon, yeah?”

 _Home... soon...,_ Riku focused on these two words, eyes widening as he realized what was going on. The mer looked up into Sora’s azure eyes, his breath catching in his throat as he moved his hands out of the water and on to the dock, surrounding Sora. The brunett looked at him confused, a question of ‘are you okay?’ clear in his eyes. Before he got the chance to verbally say it, Riku lifted himself out of the water, high enough so that he and Sora were eye level, and leaned forward to press a light kiss to the boy’s cheek.

Sora’s eyes widened, immediately feeling his cheek rush with heat. His hand slowly reached towards Riku, but he missed his opportunity to hold him as Riku immediately pushed off the dock. Sora shielded himself from the oncoming water, and when it was safe to look again, Riku was gone. 

“... See you next week,” he mumbled, and raised a hand up to where Riku just was; the spot was still warm and wet. Sora smiled to himself, looking back to the pouch of sea glass he couldn’t wait to dive into when he got home. It would’ve been nice to be able to go through each piece with Riku, asking where he found it and if it was difficult to find, but he’d have to wait.

“See you next week.”

**Author's Note:**

> ❁ thank you for reading !! im @crossroaddawn on twitter ;) ❁


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